Jacques Brel

Jacques Brel - L'Ostendaise English translation lyrics

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The Ostend girl

An Ostend Girl
weeps on her chair.
The cat appraises
her weight of love.
In the silence
her sadness dances
And the old ones
ponder in turn.
In the kitchen
a few women1
talk about China
and a return
to Singapore.
A Javanese girl
becomes the sister in law
of the Ostend girl.
There are two sorts of time:
there is the time that waits
and the time that hopes.
There are two sorts of people:
there are the living
and the ones who are at sea.
Our Ostend girl
whom nothing soothes
carries her wound
from chair to chair.
A few gossiping
men and women2
poke in turn
at her broken heart3.
Her captain
under his fat belly
filled with beer
beats the drum.
A man of sails,
a man of stars,
he puts in
for a detour4.
There are two sorts of time:
there is the time that waits
and the time that hopes.
There are two sorts of people:
there are the living
and the ones who are at sea.
Our Ostend gril
as strawberries blossomed
became the mistress
of a pharmacist.
Her captain,
dead under his belly
is playing whale,
playing submarine.
Tell me, my sweetness,
why I, the phoney ship's boy
goaded by time
(has to) write to you from afar?
It's because I love you,
and so great is my love
that I am, my queen,
afraid of a pharmacist.
There are two sorts of time:
there is the time that waits
and the time that hopes.
There are two sorts of people:
there are the living
and me, I am at sea.

L'Ostendaise

Une Ostendaise
Pleure sur sa chaise
Le chat soupèse
Son poids d'amour
Dans le silence
Son chagrin danse
Et les vieux pensent
Chacun son tour
A la cuisine
Quelques voisines
Parlent de Chine
Et d'un retour
A Singapeur
Une Javanaise
Devient belle-sœur
De l'Ostendaise

Il y a deux sortes de temps
Y a le temps qui attend
Et le temps qui espère
Il y a deux sortes de gens
Il y a les vivants
Et ceux qui sont en mer

Notre Ostendaise
Que rien n'apaise
De chaise en chaise
Va sa blessure
Quelques commères
Quelques compères
Battent le fer
De sa brisure
Son capitaine
Sous sa bedaine
De bière pleine
Bat le tambour
Homme de voiles
Homme d'étoiles
Il prend l'escale
Pour un détour

Il y a deux sortes de temps
Il y a le temps qui attend
Et le temps qui espère
Il y a deux sortes de gens
Il y a les vivants
Et ceux qui sont en mer

Notre Ostendaise
Au temps des fraises
Devient maîtresse
D'un pharmacien
Son capitaine
Mort sous bedaine
Joue les baleines
Les sous-marins
Pourquoi ma douce
Moi le faux mousse
Que le temps pousse
T'écrire de loin
C'est que je t'aime
Et tant je t'aime
Qu'ai peur, ma reine
D'un pharmacien

Il y a deux sortes de temps
Il y a le temps qui attend
Et le temps qui espère
Il y a deux sortes de gens
Il y a les vivants
Et moi je suis en mer
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Copyrights:

Author: François Rauber, Jacques Brel, Jacques Brel/François Rauber

Composer: François Rauber

Publisher: Barclay

Details:

Released in: 1968

Language: French

Translations: English

Appearing on: L'intégrale des albums originaux (2010) , Suivre l'étoile | Intégrale (2013) , L'Album de Sa Vie (2022)

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